Also refer to this: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26486/Analysis_Xbox_360_PS3s_Reversal_Of_Fortune_Down_To_Modern_Warfare_2.php

It would be interesting to see the NPD figures of Dec 2009. Who do you think would have better console sales? How about software sales (year on year comparison) ?

Revenue as a measure of Microsoft success as a business I guess, not the entertainment value of a system.

Given the numbers you provide is correct.

Note, America has always been 360′s territory anyways.

And I fail to see how sales matter to be honest. From a gamers perspective (I myself, unlike some above from what I can tell, do NOT own shares in the gaming industry) both the MS and Sony platforms are seeing their fair share of multiplatform games, which for those of among us who choose only one console is a benefit.

Its this sort of fan base that will keep the companies alive through hard times. Though Sega had their spot taken by MS, despite how well the Dreamcast was doing, their fans were not enough to keep them above water. The barriers to entry were not strong enough to stop MS due to their fans. And they have since made enough to make them nearly market leaders. And Nintendo with the GC, ignoring their hand held division, still saw enough success to allegedly return a profit from the whole thing due to their fans.

Gosh we can tell it is Christmas. Good will unto all men etc.

By WE I meant the games industry, the people this blog is primarily written for.

“The important thing to understand, and something you’ve kind of missed, is that the Wiimote & Natal are two very different things.”
They are very different things in that regard (that you stated in your post) but they are both very similar down the line of being motion-interface devices designed to revolutionize game play.

Remember the Eye-Toy for PS2? That was big for a while, then died off after about a year. Then Nintendo announced the Wii (codenamed “Revolution” at the time) and it’s motion-based gameplay. The press all got to try it too, and they liked it. It worked impressively, and everyone, not just gamers, were getting excited about it.

Now as the Wii’s popularity begins to fall, (but don’t forget about the over half million it sold on Black Friday http://wii.nintendolife.com/news/2009/12/nintendo_shifted_a_boatload_of_hardware_last_week_in_us) the Natal seeks to take it’s place as what is essentially, the next fad. Let’s face it, their target consumers are fickle. And just like the Wii, once the novelty of Natal wears off in a few years, they’ll be off to the next best thing, whatever that may be.

WE have Natal coming? WE? I mean, I thougth you were an independent game jounalist, but when you refer as WE when talking about the 360, that really hurts your image. I always tried to overlook the bias towards the 360 in your posts because I really liked how you exposed Evony and how your fighting back, but know, I guess I’ll just stop coming here. I hope you (I mean only you, not the console as well) win the Evony case.

The Wii’s usage, post purchase, is quite low and results in low game sales. This has been demonstrated through various market studies including the SquareTrade study that was published last month that showed how the average Wii, while more reliable, is used half as much by owners as an Xbox360 or PS3:
https://www.squaretrade.com/htm/pdf/SquareTrade_Xbox360_PS3_Wii_Reliability_0809.pdf

What people suspected all along is quickly becoming a reality: Wii console sales were more trendy than steady and as per studies such as the Gamesutra report, Wii game sales have dropped off a cliff as the console has lost it’s momentum.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/26485/Analysis_Xbox_360_Software_Leads_as_Nintendo_Falters.php

The important thing to understand, and something you’ve kind of missed, is that the Wiimote & Natal are two very different things. Natal provides multi-dimensional interaction based on what the camera recognizes… like grabbing items from the screen or
motioning in one direction with body english to turn a car. These aren’t pre-programmed flicks or button presses like the Wiimote. They’re recognized patterns of movement involving one’s hands, arms, head, legs, face… the entire body. The makes interactivity that much more real and that much more RICH & creative for the developer.

Additionally, Natal isn’t targetting “Xbox 360′s current audience” as you put it. It’s targeting the market it doesn’t already have. Sure the hardcore will get Natal… but Microsoft hopes that folks that would have otherwise bought a Wii would consider an Xbox 360 Arcade instead for the same price with better games, a richer online experience, and greater full-body interactivity.

Most importantly, the Xbox 360 & Natal provide both experiences that today’s market for gamers desire: The hardcore, graphics-minded experience & the casual control-interactive experience. That combined with the largest ISV ecosystem of game developers makes the Xbox 360 the one to beat in 2010.

Incidentally, the Press like Natal and rave about it for one simple reason: They tried it, it works impressively without training, and it meets the vision that it’s creators have expressed. Wii hasn’t demonstrated any innovation in the past 2-3 E3 events. And PS3′s ‘wand’ hasn’t been used by anyone to date as far as I know.

I should be a little clearer… what I meant was if the Wii’s motion control is a fad, as Bruce has mentioned time and time again, then I can see the Natal taking the same route, maybe even staying in prominence not as long.

When you think about it, the Xbox 360′s audience doesn’t really care about motion control. Sure, they will probably get it, but I don’t see anyone trading in their controllers for it.